In examining exactly what happens when skin gets sunburned, researchers studying human skin cells and mice found that sunburn is the result of RNA damage.
The red and painful burn is an immune response triggered by this altered genetic material to remove sun-damaged cells, according to the study published in the July 8 online edition of Nature Medicine.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), suggested their findings could help scientists find a way to block this inflammatory process, which could have implications for a number of medical conditions and treatments, including psoriasis.
"For example, diseases like psoriasis are treated by UV [ultraviolet] light, but a big side effect is that this treatment increases the risk of skin cancer," lead investigator Dr. Richard Gallo, a professor of medicine at UCSD and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, said in a university news release.
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